BLU RAY REVIEW: HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2D US EDITION

Animated feature Hotel Transylvania has both a fun and familiar feeling to it. I really enjoyed it, actually more than I thought I would, but then again I always loved Mad Monster Party… The story centres around Count Dracula (Adam Sandler) who has built a lux-ghoulerish Hotel in the heart of Transylvania, where he keeps and raises his precious daughter, hiding her away from the real world for her own good (by perpetrating the myth all humans are evil and bent on destroying all monsters). With her impending 118th birthday Mavis (Selena Gomez) is itching to leave the restrictive walls of Hotel Transylvania and see what’s out there.

With a Monster Party planned… all the legends of Horror are expected (Voiced by a myriad of Sandler regulars; Kevin James, David Spade, Steve Buscemi and Jon Lovitz to name a few) to celebrate Mavis’ big day. It’s here where the best laid plans got to hell. The unexpected arrival of a young human Jonathan (Andy Samberg) sends a cold shiver through the Count and he must disguise him as a “monster” to avert panic. What follows is a fun park ride loaded with gags and a burgeoning romance, which has a distinctly “reverse” Twilight feel to it.

VIDEO: MPEG-4 AVC, 1080P, 1:85:1 Ratio

POW, this is what Full HD is about, this presentation sparkles from start to end. Colours explode and the fine detail is superb. This is reference level stuff, a vibrant, precise and dazzling viewing experience which is basically flawless, Bravo SONY, Bravo. ★★★★★.

The lossless DTS track on this is another fine example of the format, engulfing surround field, which gets nasty when it needs to. The music rocks and at times is thundering. The dialogue is clean and exact, once again very hard to fault at any level, outstanding. ★★★★★.

EXTRAS:

The highlights are an Audio Commentary, an animated short, deleted scenes & a featurette on the vocal talent. In addition to that it comes in a lovely slip-case with the DVD version. Its also ‘all’ region too. A decent haul, ★★★★★ and a half.

OVERALL:

Hotel Transylvania is sweet, clever and well worth a look regardless of your age. It’s a surprisingly enjoyable film, considering the obvious ‘Sandler fear’ is taken into account. FEAR NOT! This is a shining example of the Blu-ray format this presentation so highly recommended and definitely worth a peek, ★★★★★ and a half. Now I’m off to re-watch Mad Monster Party for old times sake.